Three City Council members decided the fate of Monrovia's April elections Thursday, voting 3-0 to move forward with the elections after more than a dozen residents gave impassioned speeches both for and against putting two open council seats to a vote.
The council decided not to re-appoint Larry Spicer to former Councilman Clarence Shaw's now vacant council seat earlier in the special meeting Thursday and Mayor Mary Ann Lutz abstained from voting on the status of the election because she is on the ballot. That left the decision in the hands of Councilman Tom Adams, Councilwoman Becky Shevlin and Mayor Pro Tem Joe Garcia.
Several residents argued during public comment that the election would be a waste of time and money since only two candidates--Larry Spicer and Alexander Blackburn--are running for two open council seats. The election will cost the city about $53,000 to put on, according to a city agenda report.
But the three deciding council members each felt that canceling the election would cheat the voters out of an opportunity to choose their representatives.
"I’ve never considered elections to be expensive. I’ve considered elections to be priceless," Adams said. "I think it would be wrong for us to take your right to vote away from you."
Shevlin and Garcia concurred.
"The opportunity to vote is so precious," Shevlin said. "As much as I'd like to save that money, I can't do it."
"You can't put a price on democracy," Garcia added.
The decision will allow write-in candidates to campaign for office and several residents have expressed interest in doing so.
One thing nearly everyone agreed on was that Shaw's resignation was poorly handled and the source of what Shevlin called a "horrible mess." Shaw's abrupt resignation drew rancorous comments from residents and council members alike who blamed him for undermining the possibility of a contested election in April.
Adams, who has accused Shaw of pretending to run to help Spicer get elected, shied away from discussing Shaw's intentions Thursday, saying only that the former councilman's actions were conducted under a "cloud of dishonesty."
Lutz opened the meeting with a short speech scolding Adams for his public remarks about Shaw and Spicer, calling them "disingenuous."
Though the election will continue as planned on Apr. 9, the composition of the council could change before then. The council voted to delay action on replacing Shaw's council seat, meaning the city will move forward with four council members until at least March when the council could decide to re-appoint Spicer.
For example: When I met with our former mayor to share a very popular solution to very costly societal problem, the mayor responded, “I’ don’t car about society’s problems, I care about Monrovia’s problems”. The educated/life-experienced citizens in this community have a moral obligation to expose the short-comings of poorly prepared candidates and narrowly-focused/flawed policy. Some of the questions, I have for my elected officials are: Who’s in your brain trust? How much time do you dedicate to research on the issues? What do you consider to be the most pressing issues for Monrovia? How do you see Monrovia’s responsibility in addressing macro issues? What kind of relationship should the council have with MUSD?
Additionally, I’ve offered to improve the Sawpit Wash Trail again at no cost to the government/taxpayers, again, no response or support from city hall in any way shape or form. Improving the trail will positively affect property values and will benefit Monrovia not to mention increase our quality of life. When I replaced a driveway at our 827 Lemon Av. Property, I called Niles Boyer at least 8 times to obtain permission to fix the city’s broken side walk at no cost to the public, again no answer or response. I took the matter to his manager, still nothing. (cont)
Last but not least, I’ve mentioned several times to council and Ron Bow, (our public works director), that some of our implementations of traffic control devices are counter to documented best practices, which means we are vulnerable to tort related lawsuits, as well as, Monrovian’s are left paying more for infrastructure costs, have increased wear and tear on their vehicles and pedestrians/bicyclists are discouraged from enjoying their community – 2 cases in point: Speeds of 35+ MPH are common on our residential streets, which is relevant since such speeds result in more collisions and more serious injuries in those collisions, thus increased need for costly traffic police. Also, make notice of the rutting in the tarmac at our controlled intersections, guess how much that costs? Additionally, those costs are recurring into perpetuity and soar in lockstep with the price of crude oil. This is no time for Monrovia voters to be asleep at the switch!
Cyrus, 626-422-5241
One was Peter Hoffman talking about haw we should not waste the tax payers money on the election and how much sales tax revenue it takes to pay for it when his company has recently received $750,000.00 of our hard earned tax money and guess where Mayor Lutz had Christmas Dinner, you guessed it Peter Hoffman's. The other was speakers who announced their membership on a city committee or commission in an attempt to add creditably to their statements. They have a right to speak but they don't have a right to imply through the use of their City credentials that what they say is the sentiment of the body they belong to or that their comments are more relevant than those of others. The Council needs to put a stop to the use of City credentials when a member is speaking as an individual.
http://monrovia.patch.com/articles/city-gives-auto-dealership-up-to-750-000-to-expand
I have spoken many times to Sgt. Coleman and have his assurance that everything is being done that can be done. If that's true, then why are there so many other residents so frustrated over this issue? I would love to slow people down in the neighborhood. What can I do?
I experienced First Hand re: Gayle Lutz being a UNAPPROACHABLE, HARSH Person. She is Way To Comfortable in her seat. She decides who to attend to and who not to, based on her personal feelings and not based on her duty as Mayor. I had the poorest communication w this woman due to her not wanting to hear about her friend Larry Spicer. No return calls, huffing on the phone when asking her for her address. She is all smiles in Public. Try calling her at City Hall, with any questions and feedback and see how she treats you. Regards
Sgt. Glen Coleman speaks the truth; it is now generally accepted fact, police cannot realistically force a speed limit - streets need to be designed to make the desired speed of traffic, the naturally safe feeling speed. In short, on low speed streets engineers need to place facilities (obstacles) that keep auto drivers in check. The key to getting resources from city hall is to make noise!!. But first, be educated so you aren't vulnerable to deflection (Government's motto for those asking for the spending of funds: "Redirect, Deny, Delay". A friend of mine is general council to a local municipality): In short, determine a solution (speed humps/tables, chicanes, curb extensions, roundabout, etc) that meets the goals of your neighbors and yourself, put it on paper in the form of a petition and submit. And if you really want action, pack the council chambers with your neighbors and speak at public comment time (least painful way to speak with council). If they tell you there's no money, keep in mind that you can suggest to your neighbors that you all can agree to a special assessment - if there's a will, there's a way. Here is a good link (from the AAA) on speed studies that can help you be more successful in your endeavor: http://cecafc7222885a326506-f1bae239892893504d123e2f1fdbfd6e.r6.cf1.rackcdn.com/ACSC_Speed_Zoning_Booklet_Final-1.pdf Also, the livable streets design manual is a great reference for these problems http://www.modelstreetdesignmanual.com/